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PROGRESS 2001 - 2008

  • June 2001 - UK Project Committee formed at an open meeting in York; Network of contacts established throughout the region, especially in Albania (Theth, Shkodër, Tirana) and Kosovo/a (Pec/Pec, Rugova). Links and partnerships formed with local NGOs in all three regions.
  • 200l - Rosie Swale, the internationally known explorer and travel writer undertook alone, a journey on foot, following the approximate boundaries of a future Balkans Peace Park, making personal contact with people all along the route. 
  • July 2003 - The 'Inaugural trek' from Rugova (Kosovo/a), through Prokletija (Montenegro) to Vermosh and Theth (Albania), was organized jointly with Aquila, ERA, Halil and IRSH. For more information see our LONG WALK FOR PEACE page.
  • July 2003 - At the culmination of The 'Inaugural trek' we held the 1st International Peace Park Conference in Shkodër, organized jointly with IRSH.
  • 2004 - UK charitable status obtained.
  • 2004 - Project promotion: slide talks, travelling panel exhibitions in USA and UK, magazine articles, press/radio/TV appearances in Balkans, video produced, newsletters, papers to academic conferences.
  • August 2004 - 550km cycle tour from Podgorica (Montenegro) through all three regions.
  • December 2004 - A weekend workshop was held in the Yorkshire Dales with representatives from Albania, Kosovo/a and Serbia & Montenegro. A formal proposal was produced for the establishment of the 'First Balkan Peace Park', to be sent to governments and funding sponsors.
  • 2004/2005 - Money donated by children and parents of the small village school in Malhamdale, Yorkshire, UK, was used to repair and improve the fabric of a school in Theth, Albania.
  • 2004/2005 - Full support of Min. of Environment, Kosovo/a.
  • March 2005 - Nigel Young had a meeting with Harald Egerer (Director of the UN Department of the Environment, Vienna) and discussed the proposed meeting of BPPP representatives from the regions as part of the wider network of Balkan Peace Parks and Transboundary Protected Areas. Of these, Egerer has named the BPPP as the "First Cross-Border Balkans Peace Park".
  • May 2005 - 3 groups of representatives from Kosovo/a, Albania and Former-Yugoslavia were hosted in London and the Yorkshire Dales National Park for meetings and study visits.
  • June/July 2005 - Antonia Young headed the Ethnographic Team of the Shala Valley Project, which gave her ample opportunity to discuss the BPPP with many individuals and families within the Theth National Forest Park.
  • August 2005 - Fatos Lajci led a 2nd 'Long Walk for Peace' through the region, sponsored by the Kosovan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport. 21 people joined the walk, which included a walk from Theth over to Valbona (an area which we feel should be included in the BPP). The trek concluded with an international conference in Mitrovica.
  • 1st October 2005 - The Balkans Peace Park Information Centre was opened in Shkodër, Albania.
  • October 2005 - The BPPP received a grant from a charitable organisation to further its aims.
  • November 2005 - At the AGM it was confirmed that Edward Thatcher an experienced fundraiser, project developer with Balkans experience and an enthusiastic mountaineer, would work for the BPPP on a 'sole trader' basis to: develop and maintain the website, to handle general enquiries, and to raise further funds.
  • April 2006 - UNEP committed to funding the first phase of a project, planned in partnership with Fractal. This project aimed to promote the development of strong local democratic procedures; foster better cross-border cooperation; and promote harmonious trans-border environmental protection in the BPP area.
  • April 2006 - The BPPP began collaborating with the European Green Belt organisation to include the BPP as part of Mikhail Gorbachev's vision of transforming the old Iron Curtain into an environmentally protected corridor across Europe. This partnership will provide a boost to the work of both organisations. Please read the article about the BPPP in the most recent IUCN newsletter.
  • June 2006 - The BPPP attended a UNEP organised conference on "Enhancing Transboundary Biodiversity Management in South East Europe". The conference, held in Podgorica, Montenegro, was successful in enhancing regional cooperation among organizations and ministries operating in transboundary environmental protection and sustainable development fields. In addition to the main conference the BPPP held a special side event to which representatives from our local partner organisations in Albania, Kosova and Montenegro were invited. The event was very successful. We met new potential partners from Montenegro and made plans for a dedicated BPPP conference to be held late this year or early next year in Plav, Montenegro. Photos of the conference can be seen in our photo archive.
  • 18th August of 2006 - With funding from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; and SOROS, the 6 member BPP Coalition was founded in the ‘Rugova Camp,’ where everyone involved signed the Coalition MOU. For more information please see the BPP Coalition.
  • 30th September 2006 - Our AGM, held at the offices of JR Jones Solicitors in London, was a great success. The AGM was attended by many eminent visitors including: the Albanian ambassador to the UK, a representative from UNEP, colleagues from the region, the editor of DRITA and others. We were also able to premier Fatos Lajçi’s film about the BPPP 'The Long Walk for Peace'.
  • 17th November 2006 - Our chair, Antonia Young, was invited by UNEP to present the BPPP at a workshop in Istanbul of the South and East European Ecological Network entitled: "Exchanging views and experiences in cross-border Issues"
  • 15th and 16th November 2006 - The new BPP Coalition held a conference in the Grand Hotel, Prishtina. The main focus was to bring together mayors or municipal leaders of communities in or around the BPP area, to invite them to describe the attractions of their locality and to commit themselves publicly to Peace Park development. Mayors, or their deputies, from five of the six BPP municipalities addressed the conference and jointly signed the Letter of Good Intent. This open and public commitment to the development of the Balkans Peace Park is a huge step forward in the journey towards the reality of a Balkans Peace Park.
  • December 20th 2006 - Shkodër University's Rector, Prof. Dr. Mahir Hoti, welcomed many to a Reception hosted by BPPP committee member Naim Hasani. Naim, originally from Shkodër, and now a trainee solicitor in London, who helped organise a big publicity event. The highlight of the event was the signing by Mr. Shyqyri Hani, on behalf of Mr. Lorenc Luka, of the Letter of Good Intent. This was the culmination of the work of gathering support from all 6 municipalities of the BPPP/BPP by the BPP Coalition initiated in August. Coalition members, Fatos Lajçi and Burim Leci brought the Letter to Shkodra for signature, and currently retain it.
  • April 11th 2007 - Abbey Radis spoke on the Balkans Peace Park at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, where the BPPP exhibition was displayed for a month.
  • June 12th to 13th 2007 - The Balkans Peace Park Project in association with the BPP Coalition, and part funded by UNEP, organised a stakeholders workshop for the region of the Prokletije /Bjeshket e Nemuna/ Albanian Alps Mountains, gathering representatives of all the major stakeholders groups from the above mentioned tri lateral mountain area from Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo/a. The meetings were a great success and examined the issues of: raising public consciousness on biodiversity environmental awareness; responsible, viable tourism; environmental educational programs; and other issues. Report forthcoming.
  • June 17th to 18th 2007 - Dritan Shala of the BPP Coalition and Antonia Young attended, as observers, the 10th Regular Meeting of the Prespa Park Coordination Committee at Resen, Macedonia, on Lake Prespa - a similar 3-way cross-border collaboration to the BPPP (Macedonia, Albania and Greece).
  • July 13th-16th 2007 - Albania-Montenegro Cross-Border Summer Trek.  20 participants from around the world took part in a long trek from Okol, Albania to Jezerca Lake, Montenegro and back again.  The group visited local historical sites, traveled through temporary border controls, and stayed in former military barracks now used as a bunk house.  New trekking routes were also researched.  A report is forthcoming.
  • July 17th-20th 2007 – 12 trekkers left Thethi to travel down the Shala Valley to Abat, where they stayed overnight in the kulla (traditional stone tower construction, built for families in feud).  The BPPP is promoting the use of this kulla as a bunk house.  Report forthcoming.
  • July 13th-25th 2007 - Two week multi-activity, borders-crossing trip based on Plav.  8 international participants joined Richard Hargreaves on this trip.  They crossed the Albania-Montenegro border twice and took part in climbing, hiking and mountain biking activities.  They were successful in to promoting the aims of the BPPP through ‘sustainable visitor activities’.  A full report is available.
  • June 2007 - The BPPP was put forward for a tourism award by Nicky Gardner of hidden europe magazine. Her proposal is available here
  • August 2007 - The BPPP was officially nominated for the BGTW Best Overseas Tourism Project 2007 award
  • August 27th-31st 2007 - At the European Identity, Power and Space Conference – Tirana, Albania. Alma Shkreli, representing the BPPP and Sabanci University, Istanbul, presented Regaining the borderlands. The Cross-border Balkan Peace Park and Petrit Imeraj, of the BPP Coalition and Preservation of Forests and Green Environment, showed his exhibition of photographs from the 3 regions.
  • September 3rd-5th 2007 - Ann Kennard presented a paper entitled The Balkans Peace Park as a paradigm for transboundary conflict resolution at the UACES 37th Annual Conference and 12th UACES Research Conference, University of Portsmouth.
  • September 9th-12th 2007 - Abbey Radis presented her paper on The Role of Resource Sharing Initiatives in Peacebuilding, on behalf of the Balkans Peace Park, at the Parks, Peace and Partnerships Conference in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada, as part of their celebration of their 75th anniversary of cross-border collaboration.
  • September & October 2007 - Robin Hanbury-Tenison, a founder member of Survival International, and his wife, Louelle rode Albanian horses through the whole of Albania. They started their tour with a couple of weeks riding through the three regions of the BPPP.
  • September 26th-30th 2007 - Ann Kennard made a presentation about the BPPP marking the formal close of EUROPARC's Nature - Bridging Borders conference held in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic.
  • November 2007 - The BPPP received a Highly Recommended Certificate from the British Guild of Travel Writers.
  • November 25th 2007 - Abbey Radis, of the BPPP, addressed the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Annual Seminar Explore: an expedition and fieldwork planning seminar.
  • March 2008 - More than sixty stakeholders from central government, regional government, municipalities, NGOs and other organisations from Albania, Kosovo/a and Montenegro attended a two-day workshop in Shkodra, northern Albania, to plan the next steps towards the creation of a transboundary Balkans Peace Park.
  • April 2nd and 3rd 2008 - Very successful and well attended day-long meetings were held in Yorkshire in preparation for the pilot 2-month Summer Programme to be held in Thethi from June this year.
  • 4th June 2008 - Antonia Young delivered a paper "A Section of the IUCN European Green Belt: The cross-border Peace Park (Albania/Montenegro/Kosovo)" at the Životna Sredina ka Avropi (Environment for Europe) EnEO8-4th Regional Conference held at Belgrade Chamber of Commerce. star

The Balkans Peace Park Project is a registered UK Charity (No. 1105447) and is regulated by the Charities Commission of England and Wales. T&C